Matchholder



July 29, 1958 D. I. FRIDOLPH 2,845,172

. MATCHHOLDER Filed June 13, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I /5 -INVENTOR V I 13- v DORIS 'F P/DOLPH July 29, 1958 v D. l. FRIDOLPH 2,845,172

MATCHHOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F iled June 13, 1956 INVENTOR par/s fie/Pap United States Patent Ofiiice 2,845,172 Patented J uly- 2.9, 195.8.

MATCHHOLDER- DorisI. Fridolph, Pasadena, Calif. Application June 13, 1956, Serial No. 591,151

' 3 Claims; ((31. 206-33) This invention relates to a protective. container for matches and more specifically to a novel and improved holder for book type, safety matches thatnot only guards both the matches and the striking surface on the outside of the book, but at the same time affords a practical. light weight anddecorative holder.

Holders for safety or book; matches have been proposed but such holders while affording the user a measure of protection do not eifectively guard the striking surface to prevent accidental striking of matches in. other containers that may come in contact with the striking element of the matches in the protective container. More over such prior holders are relatively complicated and expensive devices and will accommodate but a single book ofmatches.

Y One object of the invention resides in the provision of a n'ovel 'and' improved protective. container for safety matches that will protect both the matches as well as the striking surface when the matches are'wholly enclosed within the container and at the same. time affords ready access to. the matches and the striking means therefor by way of a single manual" operation. Moreover the invention is so arranged and designed that the cover of the matches may be closed prior to. striking in order to avoid accidental ignition of the matches remaining in the book.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of anovel and improved container for safety matches characterized by its simplicity, effectiveness and dependability. Through a novel and improved arrangement and" cooperation of the elements of the container and the matches to be held thereby, the user is afforded complete protection against accidental striking of unprotected matches by contact with the striking surface of the safety' matches housed within the container.

Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of a novel and improved holder for safety matches that may be arranged to hold one or more books of matches with the matches and striking surface completely protected and at the same time afford ready access thereto for removingthe matches and exposing the striking; surface. v

Still another object of the invention is a novel and improved protective container -for safety matches and the like.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawings of this application.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a protective matchholder in accordance with the invention and with a book of safety matches positioned therein;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the protective holder in accordance with the invention illustrating the position of a book of safety matches for insertion within the container;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. l with the matches withdrawn from the container for removing a match and exposing the strikingmeans;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5' is a cross. sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

' Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 7 is a topview of the embodiment. shown in Fig. 6' with. a. book of matches shown in dotted outline;

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view of Fig. 7 taken along.

the line 8 8 thereof;

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of still another embodiment. of the invention; and

Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view of Fig. 9 taken in the direction of the arrow denotedin Fig. 10..

Broadly the. holder or protective enclosure for safety or book matches inaccordance with the invention com-- prises a. U-shaped structure having a. pair of confronting members of a width. slightly exceeding that of the matches and adapted. to slid'ably receive the safety matches therebetween. One, of the legs or confronting members is provided with an opening near'an outer edge thereof and: the edge adjoining said opening is bent upon itself to provide an inwardly extending flange spaced from the body of such member. The, other leg or confrontingmernber extends slightly beyond the outer edge of the. firstmember and forms the surface upon which the safety matches are moved intoandout of the holder; By in serting the. matches with the striking surface facing the leg having the opening therein, as the matches are withdrawn the. lip or flap for engaging, the flexible cover of the. matches and holding the striking meansengages. the rearwardly. formed flange and prevents further with drawal of the. matches. At the same time the striking means is brought into registration with. the opening for the purpose of striking a match. When the matches are withdrawn in this manner, the lid or flexible. cover of the book of matches may be openedv to remove amatch. The cover may then be closed. and. the match. ignitedonthe. striking surface. After ignition of the match'the book ofmatchesis pushed inwardly of the holder to guard the striking surface and at the same time hold. the cover of. the match book in place over the matches.

More specifically and with: reference to the drawings the protective enclosure in accordance with. the invention is. generally denoted by the numeral 10; while. the book of matches to be; held thereby is. denoted by the numeral 11. The protective enclosure 10 may be formed of metal, plastic or other suitable material and is'inthe form of a. U-shaped channel of a width somewhat; greater than the. width of, the book matches 11. The upper and lowerconfronting members or legs 12. and: 1-3, respectively, converge. one, toward the other at the outer nds thereof as may be observed more clearly in Big. 2;. The actual distance between the outer ends of the upper and lower members is made slightly smaller than the normal thickness of a book of matches in order to provide sufticient gripping pressure when the matches are within the holder as shown in Fig. 1.

The lower member or leg 13 of the protective encloand is provided with an elongated opening near the outer edge thereof. In addition to this opening 15 the upper member 12 is also provided with an inwardly formed flange 16 that is spaced slightly from the body of the member 12 to form a narrow opening 17 therebetween.

With the structure as described above and with the book matches 11 in position within the protective enclosure as shown in Fig. 1, withdrawal of the matches by sliding them outwardly over the edge 14 of the lower member 13 will cause the lip 18 of the match book 11 to engage the slot 17 formed by the rearwardly extending flange 16 and expose the striking surface 19 as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5. After the matches have been withdrawn the cover 20 of the match book 11 may be opened as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 3 to remove one or more matches. The cover 20 is then closed and the match is ignited by striking it on the striking means 19 whereupon the entire match book 11 with the cover 20 in the closed position is returned to the protective enclosure 10 as shown in Fig. 1.

From the above it is clear that the matches are not only held safely and firmly within the enclosure when not in use but the striking surface 19 is completely guarded to prevent accidental striking of other matches that may be carried along with the matches in the holder. Another advantage of this invention is that an auxiliary box of matches may be carried within the container by placing it beneath the book of matches 11 illustrated in the drawings and with the match heads in the direction opposite to the match heads in the book 11. If a single book of matches is to be returned within the enclosure it may be desirable to narrow the rounded end 10' of the container 10 so that the space between the upper and lower members 12 and 13 is just suflicient to receive the thinner edge of the match book 11.

A matchholder embodying the narrowed structure and curved end part is illustrated in Fig. 6. In this embodiment of the invention the upper and lower leg parts 12 and 13, respectively, are formed in substantially the same manner as illustrated in Fig. 1. The outer end 14' of leg 13 is curved upwardly to engage the outer end of the matchbook 11 and hold it securely within the enclosure. In addition the curved base 21 of the holder has a relatively sharp radius conforming more nearly to the narrower end of the matchbook 11.

In certain instances it may be desirable to prevent sidewise displacement of a matchbook within the holder. For this purpose a guide member 22 is slidably mounted on the leg 13. This member may be formed of a single strip of metal or other similar material or may be fabricated of a suitable plastic. In the illustrated embodiment of the member 22, it includes a central section 23 lying flat against the inner face of the leg 13. The ends of the central section 23 are first bent inwardly about the edges of leg 13 as indicated at 24 and then outwardly and upwardly to form edge guides 25. In order to retain the guide member 22 in place on the leg 13, the latter is preferably provided with a pair of projections 26 near the outer end thereof.

In the use of the guide member 22, it is normally positioned near the outer end of leg 13 to prevent lateral displacement of the matchbook. In the replacement of a matchbook, the guide 22 is moved inwardly of the enclosure to allow the empty matchbook to be removed from one side thereof. The new matchbook is then inserted in the manner previously described.

Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate still another embodiment of the invention utilizing a fixed side guide. The protective enclosure is identical to that shown and described in Fig. l and like numbers have been used to denote like elements in each figure. The side guide 27 in this embodiment of the invention is in the form of an L-shaped member having one leg 28 secured to the underside of the enclosure part 13 while the other leg 29 functions as a guide to aid in retention of the matchbook. The upper edge of the guide 29 is preferably formed to coincide with the edge of the enclosure part 12 when the holder is empty so that the guide will not project beyond the front surface of the holder. While the guide 27 is preferably formed independently of the holder and secured thereto by soldering, welding, riveting or the like, it may be formed integrally with the body of the holder.

While only certain embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is apparent that modifications, alterations and changes may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A protective holder for book matches comprising a U-shaped closure having confronting leg members each having a length at least substantially as great as the length of the match book, and a rearwardly formed flange along the outer edge of one of said members and spaced from said one member to form a narrow channel, said one member further including an elongated opening in the outer end thereof.

2. A protective holder for book matches having a striking surface comprising a channel shaped enclosure having outwardly extending leg members, one of said members having a length slightly less than the length of said matches and an elongated opening spaced from the outer edge thereof, and a flange on the outer end of said one member lying in a plane substantially parallel to the last said member and spaced therefrom, said other member having a length at least equal to the length of said matches and positioned relative to said one member whereby said matches when positioned within said enclosure will be held firmly in place therein and upon lengthwise withdrawal from between the legs will engage said flange to limit further outward movement and expose the striking surface.

3. A protective holder for book matches according to claim 2 wherein leg members converge toward their outer ends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,254,243 Larrabee Jan. 22, 1918 2,006,190 Wilhelm June 25, 1935 

